Fearless Friday, The Importance of Drawing

I recently read an article on Artists Network about how drawing regularly can enhance your painting, photography, just about anything you do creatively

Even if you are an accomplished artist, the act of drawing regularly will increase your skills to be able to see things differently…see new colors, tones and values…discover even more about light and shadow…learn how objects relate and influence each other…

Think of your drawing time as doodling, which takes the pressure off. You are playing, relaxing, not trying to create a masterpiece

The inspiration for today’s drawing came from this beautiful watercolor iris by David Drummond

Pick a start point and slowly draw what you see, either the outline or the shape

Check proportion and location as you go and continue to add/fill in the subject

One reason I like flowers so much is that they are forgiving, petals don’t have to be exactly right or perfectly placed

Don’t fret if it’s not perfect, add or adjust until it makes sense to your eye

Once the drawing was finished I chose the marker colors I wanted to use and made a small color chart on the edge of the paper. The markers are within reach, lined up by the sequence of the chart so I know exactly where to find each color I want

As you can see, I have an eclectic collection of brands!

I like to work from light to dark

so I began with the lightest tones

The arrows point to the slightly darker mid tones

which can be hard to recognize

Next I added a bright yellow and the dark red and browns

On a whim I used the bright yellow to make lines on some of the petals

indicating the iris signature texture

Next more brights with a bold orange

Pinks were added for more contrast and exaggeration

Lavender

And the final purple

“Bold and Beautiful” 7″ x 10″ ink & marker on mix media paper

Practice drawing by shape to enhance your skills, and exaggerate with bold colors to encourage your eyes to see things differently and really dissect the colors and tones

We automatically associate water with blue, but if you really look at water you will see it is a reflection of the many things around it, and might not be blue at all!

Below art more blooms I’ve done this way with their inspiration photos

Comments

Morning, Jenna. I am of the notion to read emails as soon as I wake each morning & your blog is the first thing I read. You always inspire me to reach a little higher, step a little faster & be a bit more fearless. Thank you for always reminding me to live life to the fullest & be all that I can be. Thank you, my friend!

Jenna, you are such a talented artist and inspiration! Your creations are always gorgeous! I am going to show this to my daughter. She loves to paint and the Iris would be a perfect project for her. Enjoy your weekend!

You offer a really good reminder — do it daily. I’m more lax in the winter months or at home. And really, there’s no excuse, even if you’re just sitting in a chair with the telly. At the lake I paint every day and I can see my work improve exponentially. You have motivated me. (Although I will say I have painted every day this week! But now I need to make that the habit again.)

Love the good tips. And you’re right. THink of it as a doodle and maybe it will turn out half so good as yours!

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